Late

( )

March 6th in the U.S. ...

These two sound excellent in this series. Doug Watkins' bass in particular. It's been almost a year since this reissue series was released. I hope the 7100 series is a possibility. Then we'll get another Prestige All Stars set:

B. Goren — do you know where in Tel-Aviv Etrog's sculpture is?

From a post of Jeff's back in 2013.

Mystery solved! The sculpture on the cover of Flight For Four is by Romanian-born, Canadian sculptor Sorel Etrog. It's called "Moses." Evidently there are three copies — one in Canada, one in Tel Aviv, and one in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles copy is at the LACMA, and not currently available to the public. (Interestingly, Etrog had a contemporaneous sculpture entitled "Flight.") The Proud History of Moses. Etrog died last year. He was 80.

I know this sounds somewhat ridiculous, but I can almost hear a bluegrass version. I'd stick around to hear it through.

Harold Land gets Monk more than I thought. This one is turning into one of my favorite live Monk recordings. Anyone else spin this one more than others?

You're right. Joan Rivers: piano aka Patti Bown Ferdinand "The Bucket" Slonimsky: bass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE5t21rZH94 Who's in this group? Phil Woods: alto saxophone Clark Terry: flügelhorn Budd Johnson: tenor saxophone Frank Rehak: trombone ? - bass ? - piano Joe Harris (?): drums

A favorite here as well. Not many people seem to get into those two discs. (You have to like Irène.)

[Heckyeah.]

• Recommend a favorite version of this Sonny Rollins composition. Familiar or obscure. AND/OR • Who would you like to hear cover "Airegin"? Any combination of musicians. Any genre.

Glad you dig.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ5ORdM6ZQk

Whoa.

Nice memory. Nice record, too. Though I hope your copy was less than $710!

And from the other side of the time spectrum:

Best-sounding version I've heard. Joe Farrell on English horn! Pepper Adams sounds uncomfortable to me on this record, and I actually think that makes his solos better; he can't fall back on "The Knife" (Mel Lewis's nickname for Adams?) licks. Of all these new SHM-CDs, the Monks are two discs I can recommend without reservation. Let the board know what you think after you've heard it.

Where were you buying your records in the 60's? You purchased Strange Blues around 1967? I didn't buy my first jazz record (vinyl) until 1986 — I was Ray Draper's age! Vancouver, British Columbia. I forget the name of the store. The record was Tenor Madness. My saxophone teacher at the time told me that I should check out Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. I saw that record and thought, hey, both guys! That began my fascination with Sonny Rollins' work. Coltrane hit me about a year or so later. Then, in 1988, compact discs were flooding the market, and I stopped buying vinyl. Another note about Strange Blues — I've always been interested in the one-off rhythm section of Jon Mayer (listed as John Meyers), Bill Salter, and Larry Ritchie. How did Jackie end up bringing them into the studio (and never again)? Here's what some internet research turned up: • McLean knew Ritchie (drums) from The Connection. Ritchie played into the 60's, then shifted his focus to painting. • Jon Mayer (piano) recorded with Ray Draper and John Coltrane for A Tuba Jazz, and then dropped out of the scene for around 13 years. He later re-emerged, still playing, in the Los Angeles area. He made quite a few records in the 80's and 90's. Anyone have any? • Bill Salter (bass) went on to perform with a long and varied list of musicians: Miriam Makeba, Yusef Lateef, Roland Kirk, Lena Horne, Pearls Before Swine, The Bee Gees, Bette Midler, and more. I hear you. His solo work on his own record (Prestige) with Coltrane is fairly painful to my ears. The Strange Blues solos are much simpler, clearer, and as a result (to me) more rewarding.

Mengelberg's solo album on BUZZ, entitled simply Solo, reminds me of Monk in places. But Mengelberg feels to me more like an extension of Monk, as if he's absorbed the Monk he's interested in, and then moved onward. His chops are deep and serious, but his playing also reflects, at times, a certain amount of sarcasm that, instead of coming off as humorous, to me just feels obnoxious. But that's just a personal reaction. Braxton would probably call Monk a "restructuralist" rather than a "stylist," though I think I get where Iverson's coming from. I can't say that Iverson's own playing has clicked for me, but I think, not unlike Wynton, he's an important ambassador for the music, which is not at all meant as damning praise.

The only Wynton album I've held on to is: There's an insightful interview Ethan Iverson did with Wynton that goes over this club recording. Gave me a fuller appreciation for Wynton the person. As far as Monk, I haven't heard the album in question. When I see Monk covers on albums, for some reason it's usually (and unfortunately) a turnoff. Not always, but in general. I guess I just like to hear Monk play Monk, which means I miss out on probably some very good music. I'm a huge fan of Steve Lacy, for example, but have very little of his Monk work. Lacy Plays Lacy — that's far more exciting for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax6cx928elU

Prestige 7500 Few play the blues like Jackie. Released ten years after it was recorded, and pulled together from three different sessions, this record works on its own terms. "Strange Blues" and "Not So Strange Blues" bookend the album, and display some of the grittiest McLean from the 50's. The tuba sextet tracks contain what I think are some of Ray Draper's best solos of the period — full of humor, song references, and a cleaner than usual articulation — all from a 16 year-old. It's one of my favorite Prestige dates. When was the last time you spun this record? Impressions?

(All sold — thanks!)